Performance

Test System

All testing is done at a room temperature of 20°C (68°F), with a 1°C margin of error. The coolers are tested with Turbo, EIST, and C1E enabled, which will allow the CPU to clock down to a low 1.6 GHz while idle, or clock up to proper speeds under stock and overclocked conditions. With the use of XMP, the Intel i7 3960X ES chip I used for testing runs at 3.6 GHz under stock load. Overclocked, the chip is set to 4.1 GHz at 1.225 volts. During all these tests, fan speeds are set to run at 100% in the BIOS, with temperatures being recorded by AIDA64.

The idle test will consist of the CPU sitting idle at the desktop for 15 minutes. This will allow for a stable temperature reading that will be recorded at the end of those 15 minutes.

AIDA64 and its CPU stability test represent a typical multithreaded user load. It is run for 15 minutes before the highest reading during the test is recorded and taken as the result. This test lets enthusiasts know what temperatures they can expect to see with games and applications.

Prime95 is the multithreaded stress test I will use to find the cooler's temperatures at maximum load. This is done by using the "In-place large FFTs" setting to truly stress the cooler's ability at keeping temperatures in check. The test is run for 15 minutes, and the highest recorded temperature is used as the result.

Fan noise testing is done at 20%, 50%, and 100% settings, and the dBA level is recorded by a Pyle PSPL25 sound pressure level meter at a distance of 30 cm. Fan RPM results are taken at the same 20%, 50%, and 100% settings.

Idle

At idle, the Seidon 120XL ties the H90 and Coolink Corator DS for the top spot. When fully overclocked, idle temperature climbed by 4°C, which places the Cooler Master product in the middle of the pack.

Typical Load

At typical loads, the Seidon 120XL again ends up in the middle of the pack, tying the Corsair H90 at stock and falling behind it by 1°C when overclocked. This is a good showing considering the Seidon 120XL has a lower price tag than the H90.

Max Load

We finally see what the Cooler Master Seidon 120XL has to offer during the maximum load test. At stock speeds, it comes in at the back of the pack; however, once overclocked, the Seidon 120XL ends up in third place, trailing the Corsair H100 by 1°C and the H110 by 5°C. The big win here is the fact that it beats out the H90, its closest competitor price-wise, by 2°C. The cooler is sadly, while accomplishing this task, much louder than its competitor.

Fan Noise

As the charts show, the Cooler Master Seidon 120XL is, at low to mid fan speeds, a tolerable cooler in terms of noise level. Achieving its maximum cooling performance on the other hand means dealing with a good amount of noise. The fan noise itself, or the rush of air, is not so bad, but the noise from the fan motor is somewhat unpleasant, although this can differ perceptually from individual to individual. I found it hard to deal with, but others may not notice it at all. Still, the 54 dBA at load makes this the second nosiest cooler I have tested so far.